Improving the efficiency of residential air-distribution systems in California, Phase 1
This report describes the results of the first phase of a multiyear research project. The project`s goal is to investigate ways to improve the efficiency of air-distribution systems in detached, single-family residences in California. First-year efforts included: A survey of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) contractors in California. A 31-house field study of distribution-system performance based on diagnostic measurements. Development of an integrated air-flow and thermal-simulation tool for investigating residential air-distribution system performance. Highlights of the field results include the following: Building envelopes for houses built after 1979 appear to be approximately 30% tighter. Duct-system tightness showed no apparent improvement in post-1979 houses. Distribution-fan operation added an average of 0.45 air changes per hour (ACH) to the average measured rate of 0.24 ACH. The simulation tool developed is based on DOE-2 for the thermal simulations and on MOVECOMP, an air-flow network simulation model, for the duct/house leakage and flow interactions. The first complete set of simulations performed (for a ranch house in Sacramento) indicated that the overall heating-season efficiency of the duct systems was approximately 65% to 70% and that the overall cooling-season efficiency was between 60% and 75%. The wide range in cooling-season efficiency reflects the difference between systems with attic return ducts and those with crawl-space return ducts, the former being less efficient. The simulations also indicated that the building envelope`s UA-value, a measurement of thermoconductivity, did not have a significant impact on the overall efficiency of the air-distribution system.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- California Inst. for Energy Efficiency, Berkeley, CA (United States); USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 10179003
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-31636; CIEE-5; ON: DE93001576
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jun 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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